


A Softspot for Strays

by Absolutely_Corrupted



Series: SIs in Harry Potter [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Food Issues, Gen, Hogwarts Inter-House Rivalries, Journalism, Pseudonyms, Ravenclaw, Self-Insert, The Quibbler, animagus transformations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-11 19:39:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17453039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absolutely_Corrupted/pseuds/Absolutely_Corrupted
Summary: Marietta Edgecomb is many things. A gifted student, a lover of sweets, Cho Chang's best friend, a reincarnated soul...She is not, however, a callous bitch.More's the pity.So much for not getting involved. She can only hope that in this version of events, she won't end up covered in boils.





	A Softspot for Strays

For all that I can appreciate the wonder that is science, I’ve never once believed it could offer explanations for each and every one the mysteries of the universe. All the way up until my death, I believed in that which went beyond logic. Or, in simpler terms: _Magic._

This means that I was less surprised and more intrigued when I came into awareness in my second life. Well, I say ‘came into awareness,’ but that isn’t exactly what happened.

You see, the memories were always present, perhaps less clear to me in my early youth, but present nonetheless. It was a matter of whether I dwelled on them, whether I applied the experience of my past life to my current one.

Before turning five, I actually oscillated quite a bit between being the sum of two lives and being only the little girl of my second. From what I recall, these fluctuations were primarily triggered by situational factors. After all, what use would I have for years of extra knowledge whilst playing hide-and-seek?

It was my first few years of schooling which brought all my cumulative experience to the fore.

I was bullied. _Again_.

Just like in my original life, I had an aptitude for school and an eagerness to please. This, on its own, wasn’t quite enough for more than budding resentment to be directed my way. It was when you took into consideration the fact that I did little to hide my disdain for the children who didn’t live up to my expectations that the animosity began to make sense.

I probably sound like an arrogant brat, and I was a bit, but mostly it was youthful ignorance. You see, whether it was academic or physical, I tended to be very good at what I applied myself to. I was talented. Naturally so. And I didn’t understand that the other children weren’t. I thought they refused to try, not that they didn’t understand or couldn’t achieve what I did. Of course, this could have been solved easily enough had I spoken with the other children, but I was too shy and the misunderstanding was perpetuated.

The other children eventually grew irritated with my “arrogance” and I became the subject of mild bullying. Sensitive child that I was and more upset than I could remember being in my life, I turned to the memories of my previous life to solve my problems.

It worked.

Realization came to me quickly and though I couldn’t fix things immediately, I worked tirelessly to overcome the image I’d built for myself. Luckily for me, children have short memories.

My school life improved… But that wasn’t the only thing the memories changed.

Suddenly, my home life – made up of the things that had always seemed normal to me simply due to the fact that I’d been born to them – was anything _but_ normal. My family was the same, same parents, same brothers, same personalities, but the things they could do… The _magic!_

It was surreal. I was simultaneously astonished and unfazed by it all. The old memories told me that such things were impossible and fantastic, while my immediate memories insisted there was nothing extraordinary about the things my family could do, the things _I_ could do.

Sure, I’d always been excited when I’d performed accidental magic before, but it was an understated sort of excitement. After the memories came to the fore, each time it happened I would get so excited the magic would spin out of control, spurred on by my intense emotions. It drove my mother nuts.

But that wasn’t the extent of it. No. Not only was I witch, but I was a witch in the _Harry Potter Universe._

Sounds crazy right? But it was true. My dad owned hundreds of books and though I’d remained skeptical at first, coincidence could only go so far. Casual mentions of Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and the Statute of Secrecy were difficult to dismiss.

My name too, was another clue as to which world I inhabited.

Marietta Edgecombe, the same girl who betrayed the D.A. and had boils spelled across her face in those books I’d loved a lifetime ago.

Needless to say, I was both distressed and bewildered when I made the connection. Loyalty was something I felt very strongly about. That, and I _really_ didn’t want to be covered in boils.

I knew I wasn’t the book character – the fact that I was reincarnated and aware of the general future made that very clear – but I couldn’t shake the fear that it could have been me, in her place.

That fear drove me to make a decision.

By the time I was eight, I resolved to avoid anything to do with Harry Potter. Perhaps that was a tad excessive, I could have simply resolved to avoid Umbridge or snitching, but I’ve always liked the adage, ‘better safe than sorry.’ Besides, I didn’t want to deal with all the tragedy around the main characters – the war itself would be bad enough.

It was really too bad the decision was taken out of my hands.

 

* * *

 

It all started in my fifth year.

It was my OWL year, so a little inattention regarding my resolution could be forgiven, but that inattention, coupled with some bad luck and a sob story, led me to make what might possibly be the biggest mistake of my second life.

_Ah, to hell with it – this won’t change anything._

I fished around in my bag for the food I’d bought in Hogsmeade, throwing away my last chance to back out. “C’mere you great beast of a dog,” I unwrapped the skewers of meat and waved them about. “I haven’t got all day.”

The beast in question made a strange huffing sound and bounded forward. I muffled my squeak of surprise and held the meat as far away from my body as I could. Then I watched in disgusted awe as the dirty looking animal devoured everything, leaving behind only saliva and the chewed up wooden skewers.

“Gross.” I dropped the skewers to the ground. “I can’t believe I ever wanted a dog…”

The dog stepped closer and started licking my hand, no doubt trying to get any lingering traces of food.

“Stop that!” I half-shrieked, half-laughed as I yanked my hand away. The dog immediately stopped its forward momentum, whining and hanging its head at the obvious reprimand.

It was really hard to remember this was a man in his early thirties and not an actual dog. Shaking my head at the pitiful looking creature, I conjured a large ceramic bowl and filled it to the brim with a silent _aguamenti_.

Sirius Black, because I had very little doubt as to the actual identity of the creature in front of me, lapped at the water enthusiastically. The sight made my chest ache. This man, after twelve years in the most terrible prison on the face of the earth, finally escaped. Only, instead of running away, instead of living his life, he chose to come back to the country that hunted him, all for the sake of his best friend’s son – a boy he barely knew.

He’d had no home, no food, and no guarantee that he wouldn’t be caught and have his soul sucked out by a dementor… And I couldn’t leave well enough alone, not after catching a glimpse of his skinny, unkempt self.

Black finished his water and I refilled it with very little conscious thought, too busy trying to come up with ways to help the man without revealing my knowledge.

I would feed him every Hogsmeade weekend, obviously. But what about those times when I’d be busy with school? There was no way I’d get away with leaving the castle during the week…

A loud bark derailed my train of thought. Black had once more finished his water and now he was nosing at my bag, trying to get at the contents. “Hold on just a second.” I bent down and pulled out the apple I’d saved from breakfast. I had meant for it to be part of my lunch, considering I usually spent my afternoons in Hogsmeade hiking along the trails just outside the village, but I could skip a single meal. Black had greater need of it than I did.

Placing the green fruit in my left palm, I traced my wand – larch, twelve and a half inches, dragon heartstring – across its surface until I had five manageable pieces.

Tentatively, I held the sliced apple out to the animagus. He ate the fruit happily enough, but… “I hope I’m not poisoning you. Do dogs even eat fruit?” I was ignored, but I suppose it was a silly question anyway. Sirius Black was a human first and foremost and wouldn’t eat the apple if he couldn’t handle it.

At least, I hoped he wouldn’t. 

A high-pitched chime made the both of us jerk in surprise. _Damn it._ Quickly, I tapped my wand once on the flashing object wrapped around my left wrist. The chime cut off and the light went out immediately, leaving behind my silver wristwatch.

“Crap, I’ve got to go.” I spared a moment to make sure all my things were in my bag and patted Black on the head. Then, without further ado, I started back towards the castle. My four-legged companion ended up following me to the main road, only turning around and trotting back to the caves once I was within calling distance of the other students.

I was hailed almost as soon as I’d stepped onto the path. “Marietta! We’ve been looking all over for you.” I turned to find Cho and Liz hurrying over from the direction of the Three Broom Sticks. 

“I was hiking, same as always.”

“Yeah, but usually you’re done in time to meet us for a butterbeer,” Cho pointed out.

I shrugged apologetically, determinedly not thinking about the dog that had distracted me. “I suppose I just got caught up. It _is_ the first Hogsmeade weekend we've had in a while.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of it?” asked Liz. “I mean, we climb enough stairs back at school.”

I shrugged. “I like the fresh air and the plant life. I feel cooped up otherwise.” My friends considered this for a moment, accepting of my reasoning even if they didn’t necessarily feel the same way.

“You know,” Cho began after a moment. “I think you should come with me when I go to visit my mother’s family next summer. My grandparents are always going on about meeting my friends and, well, I think you’d really appreciate the botanical garden they own – it’s quite famous back in China.” She directed her attention to their third companion. “Of course, you’re invited too Liz. I don’t know if I’d survive two weeks with only Marietta for company!”

“Hey!” I felt the last of my worries fade away as we devolved into laughter and silly jibes. I’d been getting worked up over nothing, I realized. I had internalized my fear of getting caught up in canon events (and becoming a minor antagonist, to boot) and had nearly let it cloud my judgement. Something as insignificant as providing a little food to a starving man who would otherwise resort to rats…

It was basic human decency, is what it was.

He didn’t know that I knew about him and he wouldn’t find out. To him, I’d just be a school girl with a soft spot for strays (not at all untrue). My actions would be a drop in the ocean and would mean absolutely nothing in the long run. I could still avoid Potter and the worst of the events to come.

Right?

 

* * *

 

By the time we made it back to the castle for dinner I had completely relaxed.

“I can’t believe we have to wait until _June_ for the Third Task.” Well, so much for relaxation. I felt my shoulders hike up even as Cho and Liz launched into possible theories for what the final task might be.

Despite my resolution to avoid Potter, I was determined to come up with a plausible way to save Cedric Diggory. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure _how_. Maybe I could use the confundus charm on him shortly before the third task so he wouldn’t tie with Harry? Or maybe I could give him some sort of token that would block the killing curse…?

Neither idea was particularly foolproof.

"What do you think, Marietta?"

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I dunno. But hey, I'll catch up with you later. There's something I forgot to do..." Before they could question me further, I leapt up from the table and hastily made my way out of the great hall. The  _last_ thing I wanted to do was discuss the Tournament. Not until I was sure I could do something to change Cedric's fate.

"Edgecomb!" A gruff voice called out to me just as I made it through the large double doors. Heart in my throat, I turned to find the false-Moody limping toward me. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Oh, just the library." Damn, usually I was so careful to appear just the right amount of intimidated in his presence. That came out way too airily to be anything but forcifully casual.

"Somehow I doubt that."

I laughed nervously. The same as any student caught in a lie. "Okay, you got me. I'm going to find an abandoned classroom to practice a few spells in. You won't stop me, will you?" This was a gamble. Everyone knew that Moody was lax with rules, especially rules regarding students' safety, but deliberately fessing up was different.

"What sort of spells?" It came out suspiciously, which was in-character, but was it just me or was there a spark of speculative interest in his eyes? I wasn't any sort of prodigy with defense, but the imposter had been a little too interested ever since the  _imperius_ incident.

"Oh you know," I busied my hands with adjusting my ponytail so they wouldn't flutter anxiously. "Bit of transfiguration and some charms I read about in a book."

He nodded. "Come to the defense classroom, I'll supervise."

"What, but-  _Professor!"_

"Unless of course," his grisly face twisted into an attempt at an amused smile, "You'd prefer the detention?"

 _Yes._ "No, of course not." Resigned, I followed him to the stairs.

 

* * *

 

"Again!"

How this had turned into dueling, I had no idea. I'd been planning on improving my inanimate to animate transfiguration and  _maybe_ showing Moody some of the defensive charms I'd looked up. I'd had no plans to spend my dinner hour dodging hexes!

I ducked under a stunner and transfigured one of the desks shoved against the wall into a vicious panther. It growled and darted forward, ony to be banished into the far wall. Moody managed to dodge both the  _expelliarmus_ and  _impedimenta_ I sent next, firing off something purple which made the room spin. A hasty shield charm blocked the stunner behind it, but didn't stop me from stumbling around like a drunkard.

 _"Finite."_ Dizziness dealt with, I sidestepped another unfamiliar spell and tried to catch his feet with a sticking charm. It failed, but my follow up spell did not. My muttered  _impluo_ created a localised downpour strong enough to send him to his knee.

I had all of two seconds to celebrate before I was waking up flat on my back with a wand in my face.

"Don't drop your guard!" barked Moody. "As soon as you gain the upper hand you need to finish it!" He had the gall to offer me a hand up. I took it reluctantly, nearly toppling over when he pulled with excessive force.

Once I gained my balance I stepped away, robes swirling in what was nearly six inches of water. "How did you manage to get a stunner off? I sent hundreds of gallons crashing down on you!"

He brandished his wand wordlessly, vanishing the water. "Just because I couldn't see or breathe doesn't mean I couldn't cast. If you had moved, you might have won."

It was sound advice. Especially coming from the man who'd not been hit by a single one of my spells until the last one. That didn't mean I was appreciative though. "Thank you for the tip, Professor." The sarcasm in my tone was obvious. "I'm so glad I got to duel instead of what I actually came here for."

"Loose the attitude," he recommended, rolling his good eye. "You got plenty of transfiguration practice in. Besides, knowing a spell means nothing if you can't cast under pressure."

I scoffed. "Somehow, I doubt my OWL examiners are going to be hurling hexes when I take my practicals."

"I'm not talking about exams, girl! I'm talking about the real world!" He launched into a familiar and impassioned 'constant vigilance' lecture. One I was sure he'd copied word for word from the man he was impersonating. I winced in all the right places and excused myself the second he paused for breath.

"Thanks for the practice, Professor, but I need to go. Lots of homework!" That said, I all but ran out of the room, not slowing until I reached the third floor corridor. Even now, three years after the philosopher's stone fiasco, it was largely avoided. I tucked myself into an alcove and placed my head in my hands. The entire day had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions. First the run-in with Sirius Black, then Moody... Merlin's beard, I needed to shape up. The stress of OWL prep and Diggory's fate were no excuse.

 _'Deep breaths,'_ I reminded myself.  _'Everything will work out so long as you stop and_ think.'

The incident with faux-Moody wasn't actually all that dire. I knew for a fact that he'd been pulling aside NEWT students for duels since the start of the year. Ostensibly it was to train them up, but I suspected he was trying to regain his own prowess more than anything. Years under the imperius curse were bound to be detrimental to spellcasting. I doubted I'd be called upon again in the future. Now that I'd proved to be a mediocre dueler, his fascination with me would abate. Hopefully, anyway.

Sirius Black was a more serious problem. I still planned on feeding his animagus form when I got the chance. I wasn't  _heartless._ But I needed to do so in a way which ensured I wouldn't reveal my knowledge of his identity.

...Easier said than done. 


End file.
